Saving You

Chapter 12

"Let me go!" Tuffnut yelled, yanking on the bars of the cage, similar to what Astrid had done just earlier that day. For the first time in his life, there was no sarcasm in his voice. No fun. No nothing. Just anger and a will to escape. He glanced over at his arm to the large gash, which Drago himself had cut upon his first escape attempt. But he would never stop trying. As he thought back to all the fun and stupidity in his life, from lowing up things to noting everyone, and from bashing his head to spending time with Ruff, it only encouraged the fire inside him saying to do everything in his power to get out of there. To be free again. To have fun again. To be a muttonhead again. To be annoying again. To see his sister again. "Drago! I said, let me go!"
"Well tell me the Dragon Conquerer's plans!"
"Never!"
"Then face the consequences!" Drago grabbed a spear, but removed the arrowhead, leaving only a rather large stick. Just as Tuff thought it couldn't do much damage, Drago pushed the spear handle through the bars, and thrust it into the rider's stomach. Tuff flew into the back wall, and lay crumpled, winded on the cold, stone floor of the cave.
...
"Tuffnut!" Hiccup yelled, as he scoured the ground for any clues for where the dragon rider could be. "Are you sure it was here he fell, Ruff?" Ruffnut nodded. She was still crying, though less so now, as she helped Hiccup and Astrid search the north side of the island for her brother. "Tell me what happened again."
"Umm..." Ruffnut began. "We had just finished taking down the dragon flyers, and were banging our heads together in celebration,"
"Of course," Astrid rolled her eyes.
"When one ambushed us from behind. He grabbed Tuff, and whacked him on the head with the flat end of his axe-"
"Hold up," Astrid pulled Stormfly to a hover, and the others did the same. "He did WHAT to Tuffnut?" Astrid gripped her axe, ready to rage, when Hiccup placed a hand on her arm.
"Now's not the time. Tuffnut could be hurt."
"So we need to find him," Ruff said, sniffing.
"And quick."
...
"Anything?" Astrid bellowed over to Hiccup, although she already knew the answer was no, as he would have said otherwise.
"Nothing yet. You?"
"Nope." The two had just sent Ruffnut back to the village to retrieve the other riders, to help make the search quicker.
"Do you think he's okay, Hiccup?"
"I don't know." Hiccup sighed, and pushed Toothless onwards. Outside, he was staying calm, for the others sake, but on the inside, he was panicking like you wouldn't believe. What if he is hurt? What if they are torturing him? What if he's... Hiccup shook his head, and ploughed onwards. The ground around him was singed with fire, with parts flooded with the Scauldron's boiling water. He exhaled loudly as he continued onwards, watching for any signs of movement, and the remains of his village. Suddenly, he fought a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye.
"Astrid!" He called out, catching the attention of the rider. "Over here!" The two zoomed across the land to where the rustle had come from. There, were dragon hunters -all Drago's supporters- laughing and cracking jokes about what they were going to do to their prisoner.
"When it's my shift next, I'm going to slam him headfirst into one of the SnapTrappers!"
"Yeah? Well, when I'm on guard duty, I will be using him to help me sharpen my axe. Not by getting him to use a stone, no, but by running it straight across his stomach!" The group burst into hysterics, before the others took a turn.
"It's sickening," Astrid said, as she looked over at Hiccup. He wasn't saying a word, just staring, a frown growing on his face. He watched as one of them changed the subject.
"Did you hear what Drago did to him the other day there?" Hiccup and Astrid leaned in, listening in even further. "He cracked him over the head with an axe, and used a dagger to cut a gash in his arm. Drago said he was going to send a scroll stained in his blood to the chief!"
"What, Hiccup? What would that do?"
"It'll lead him here- He's one of his riders, you muttonhead. I think, one of the annoying twins. Left the other one greeting flying back to the village!" Hiccup and Astrid both gasped and looked at one another.
"We need to go and get the others. Now." Worry was scrawled across both of their faces as they took off into the cloudy blue sky.
...
"Did you find him?" Ruffnut cried as the two landed, just as the others were mounting their own dragons. Belch looked empty without his rider, a was almost as eager as Ruff to find out if he was okay.
"Kind of," Hiccup looked over at the growing concern on Ruffnut's face. "Don't worry." As the group ascended, Hiccup thought over the words he had just said. Don't worry. The less she knew, the better- right? On the way to find Tuff, if she was upset and panicking, it would only make things worse, right? But if they arrived and something had happened... no, he thought. Nothing will have happened. Not yet, anyways.
Despite the words spoken to Ruff, the chief thought and fretted over what has, or could happen to his friend.
...
"So, where exactly is it that we're going?" Snotlout asked, breaking the silence which had developed over the course of the journey.
"The cave at the forest, just off of the North beach."
"And how exactly do we know he's there?"
"Because there were men, Drago's men, laughing ad chatting about his capture, right outside of there." Astrid said, though not looking anywhere other than the road ahead of her, as she explained the situation, leaving out the gory parts, to Ruffnut's relief.
"You mean to say that it's heavily guarded and the whole reason Tuff is in there is to lure you instead?"
"Exactly." Hiccup sighed, something he had been doing often that past while.
"Hiccup, are you sure this is a good idea?" Valka asked. Although she was, of course, scared for the other riders, her top priority was her son.
"No." Silence. "There," Hiccup pointed ahead a few moments later to the cave in which Tuffnut was being held. The riders swooped into a descent, unsure of what to expect next.
Come on, Hiccup, Hiccup thought, gripping Toothless' saddle even tighter than before. You have a friend to save.